ROBERTSDALE, Ala. People turning on their taps in Robertsdale might notice a little discoloration to their water.

Relax. According to City Engineer Greg Smith and Director of Public Works Scott Gilbert, the water is safe to drink and use for all purposes.

“We’ve sent the water out (to a testing lab) and it came back absolutely safe,” Gilbert told the council. All members of the council were present for the meeting.

The discoloration comes, Smith says, from the introduction of the new water tower into the city’s water system. Instead of a traditional chlorine system, which is in use at the city’s other water towers, the new tower uses a proprietary “Miox” system which converts salt, water and electricity to the elements needed to purify the water, eliminating the need to handle dangerous chlorine.

The result, Smith says, is that “biofilm,” which Miox says on their Web site is, “a slimy, sticky substance that allows them (bacteria) to adhere to surfaces,” especially in water pipes, begins to be removed from the pipes with the new system.

“The discoloration should be gone in 21 days or so,” Smith said.

Smith added that the city had done additional tests on the water, even sending a sample to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

“As soon as we said we had installed a Miox system, they knew what to expect,” said Smith.

The discoloration is not evenly spread throughout the system. Some users see a slight discoloration while others have very discolored water. Smith said some homes have been asked to run their outside water taps and some hydrants have been opened to flush the system.

“In the long term, we will have a better, cleaner system,” said Smith.

Gilbert also informed the council that the 14 inches of rain the city received in December has delayed improvements at the wastewater treatment plant.

“The rain killed us,” Gilbert said, adding that the construction, “just needs dry weather.”

Mayor Charles Murphy asked if the Gilbert had, “kept ADEM informed” on the delay and the rain the city had had, “ever since Ida came through.”

Gilbert said he had.

Robertsdale Chief Financial Officer Ann Simpson told the council that the city’s auditors have completed their field work on the city’s books,. and will present their work to the council at the next workshop meeting.

Murphy added that the next meeting would be Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 8 a.m. because of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

Simpson also added that the “roundup” system for the city’s utility bills will go “live” in the next few weeks. Some problems were discovered with the system, which should be corrected with new software that was uploaded this week. The system will be tested with several volunteer customers first.

The city received a “late Christmas present” according to Murphy from the Baldwin Electric Membership Cooperative, some $37,212.93 for the lease of city property.

“This is very much appreciated,” said Murphy.

The council also heard a request for Robertsdale High Band Director Neil Sasser. The band will be having a golf tournament March 28 and asked if the council would sponsor a hole and cover other costs, to the tune of $1,000.

The council agreed to the request.

In other council business, the council voted to :

— “De-Annex” the southern half of County Road 48.

— Approved payment of $215,040.81 in city bills.

— Approved the minutes of the December meeting and work session.